“I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).
Resistance to the Gospel is nothing new. Throughout St. Paul’s life of missionary preaching, he was constantly followed by other groups who would appear after he had moved on. There were several different factions who disagreed with St. Paul regarding his mission to the Gentiles. They would try to convince the newly-baptized Gentile Christians that they only way one could become a Christian was to first become a Jew; namely, be circumcised and follow the Jewish dietary laws. These people did not believe that we were saved by our faith, but rather through observance of the Law.
It might seem that this kind of thinking is no longer a threat to Christianity. Unfortunately, there are still some who believe that our salvation depends upon what we do rather than upon what we believe. They believe that they will be saved through their prayers or through their good works or through their penances. Prayer, good works, and penance are all integral parts of our faith. However, they are not the means to salvation. We pray, we perform good works and impose penances upon ourselves because they are the way that we demonstrate our love for God. We do these things out of gratitude. They are not, however, the way to salvation.
St. John wrote very clearly at the end of his Gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). St. Paul was not the only one of the apostles who preached that we were justified (saved) by faith. It is an integral part of the Gospels. “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction’” (Mark 5:34). “And Jesus said to the centurion, ‘You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.’ And at that very hour [his] servant was healed” (Matthew 8:13). “When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health” (Luke 7:9-10).
Perhaps we have heard it so often that we have failed to grasp this essential element of the Gospels. Jesus said it so many times: “Your faith has saved you.” This statement was made after so many of the healing miracles of Jesus, yet we have failed to grasp its significance. Faith saves. It also is the ground for all the various elements of our religious activity.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator